6 things we can learn from Friends Characters.

Friends is a considerable love of both mine and hub-to-be. They never get tiring to watch. It’s a series that make viewers smile, laugh, cry and ultimately feel how the characters do. We want to be them, be Friends with them and have a coffee shop as cool as Central Perk to hang in.

I’m sure many of you have a favourite Friends character or episode or saying. Recently, Comedy Central ran a public twitter poll wanting to find out the nations favourite Friend (UK) and the winner was….Ross Geller. The geeky dinosaur loving, divorce having, ‘we were on a break’ saying palaeontologist. It got me thinking about how all the characters can connect with us in some way – even if you have an undeniable favourite.

Phoebe – the free spirited, life loving blonde who makes us feel happy with her quirky spirit. One of the things that truly stays with me about Phoebe is how she is able to absorb my thoughts over if there truly is a selfless deed (In The One Where Phoebe Hates PBS). Even though she is the ‘uncomplicated’ character, she really does provoke us to deliberate the deeper meanings of things. No matter what life throws at her (the suicide of her mother, death of her grandma, abandonment of her father, estrangement from her twin sister are just a few of the minor events she has experienced to say the least) she is most definitely the merry, uplifting Friend. She allows us to see that yes, life can be cruel and unexpected but it doesn’t have to define you. And we can all learn a lot from her. On your down days, just think what would Phoebe do?

Ross – the nerdy, palaeontologist father of two. Ross is pretty logical. The episode The One With The Lottery sees the group convinced they are going to win the lottery (thanks to Phoebes positive outlook again) but Ross is the only friend who brings logic into it. Even when he later gets involved, he chooses to spend his money in the most sensible way out of them all. Ross reminds us that it’s okay to be smart, to like things that are different to others (he’s forever being teased for his passion of dinosaurs and science) but also reminds us that you can be overwhelmed and slightly dumbfounded by love no matter how logical  about life you are – (I’m sure we are all aware of his undiminished love for Rachel and the decisions he made when with Emily).

Monica – the organised, clean freak with a passion for cooking. Monica is super competitive and has such a drive about her. Whether that’s from going to overweight to super sensual or achieving her dream job as a chef. She shown to be the most overpowering and controlling one out of the group, almost having this constant need to be liked (as shown In The One With All The Candy) but all this is easily forgotten about in her quest to find love and start a family. Monica is mothering, caring and attentive. She shows us that no matter how organised and efficient you like things to be – sometimes life happens, you can’t control it and you need to deal with things in a way you hadn’t planned for. She also inspires us to be a little more organised and competitive – having a get up and go attitude as strong as hers can’t be a bad thing. Don’t follow her plan to make jam after her Richard break up though!

Joey – the food loving, flirty friend, who seems to be the least organised but most loving of the bunch. Joey teaches us to enjoy and embrace life, even when you have no idea where it’s going. Many a time we see Joey in need of help from his best pal Chandler, going round in circles in his career choice and never committing to a relationship (for too long anyway). Its how many of us see our life at times. Finances suffering and our career moving leisurely BUT we never see Joey in a tiff or low about it. Instead he teaches us to pass every bridge as you come to it, have a heart as big as your tummy and live to eat (rather than eat to live).

Rachel – the once immature, spoiled girl turned independent fashionista mummy. Rachel most definitely teaches us about independence. In the very first episode we see her abandon all she was ‘supposed’ to be. She jumps into a world that is unknown to her, and we see her struggle with the adjustment at times (like in The One With George Stephanopoulos, which see’s her end the episode realising she has ‘magic beans’). Rachel goes from spoilt daughter to coffee waitress to exceeding in the world of fashion. She teaches us you have to work where to get where you want to be and that life can be tough, she teaches us that even when life is going well and the unexpected happens (like her pregnancy to on/off love Ross) that change can be good.

Chandler – the whimsical, sarcastic child of erotic writer and gay superstar. Chandler is without a doubt the one who has the biggest guard out of the group. He frequently reminds us that comedy is his defence mechanism. He teaches us that we are human and we make mistakes. We see him kiss his best friend’s girlfriend after discovering he has feelings for her, his best friend’s sister after getting too drunk, we see him freak out and go AWOL before his wedding, we see him make a bold career move and quit his job to rekindle and find his passion and we see him have a constant battle with smoking. Throughout the series Chandler reminds us that it’s okay to be human and that it’s okay to make mistakes.

There you have it. A quick round up and insight into how I think each Friends character can teach us something – I could go on and on and on. Oh and by the way my favourite Friend is Chandler!

 Who is your favourite Friend? What did they teach you the most? Do you agree with Comedy Central’s results on the nations favourite Friend?